Sights of Ancient Greece. History of Ancient Greece

The cradle of modern European civilization is rightly considered Ancient Greece. This state had a noticeable influence on the development of many spheres of human life - science, medicine, politics, art and philosophy. Some monuments of Ancient Greece have survived to this day. It is about them, as well as the history of the once great power will be discussed in this article.

Ancient Greece and its historical significance

Under Ancient Greece, historians understand the totality of civilizations, which lasted about 3000 years: from the third millennium BC to the 1st century AD. The very concept of "Ancient Greece" in the territory of the modern state is not used. In this country, this civilizational formation is called Hellas, and its inhabitants - Hellenes.

The description of Ancient Greece should begin with its significance and role in the historical development of the entire Western civilization. Thus, historians rightly believe that it was in ancient Greece that the foundation of European democracy, philosophy, architecture and art was laid. The ancient Greek state was conquered by Rome, but together with this the Roman Empire borrowed the main features of ancient Greek culture.

The real feats of Ancient Greece are not world-famous beautiful myths, but discoveries in science and culture, philosophy and poetry, medicine and architecture. It is worth noting that geographically the territory of Ancient Greece does not coincide with the borders of the modern state. Under this term, historians often mean the expanses of other countries and regions: Turkey, Cyprus, the Crimea and even the Caucasus. Monuments of Ancient Greece were preserved in all these territories. In addition, the ancient Greek settlements (colonies) at one time were scattered along the shores of the Mediterranean, Black and Azov seas.

Geography and map of Ancient Greece

Hellas was not a single, monolithic state entity. On its foundation, not one dozen separate city-states were formed (the most famous of them are Athens, Sparta, Piraeus, Samos, Corinth). All the states of Ancient Greece were so-called "policies" (in other words, cities), with adjoining lands. Each of them had its own laws.

The central core of Ancient Hellas is the Balkan Peninsula, or rather, its southern part, the western extremity of Asia Minor, as well as a number of islands located in this region. Ancient Greece consisted of three parts: Northern Greece, Middle Greece and Peloponnese. In the north the state bordered on Macedonia and Illyria.

The historical map of Ancient Greece is presented below.

Cities in Ancient Greece (policies)

What did the cities in Ancient Greece look like?

You can not say that they had a chic and luxurious appearance, as is often illustrated in pictures. In fact - it's a myth. Peculiarly and pompously in the ancient Greek policies looked only the main public buildings, but the houses of ordinary citizens were very modest.

The dwellings of people were deprived of any comfort. Historians suggest that the ancient Greeks even slept on the street, under porticos. The network of city streets was careless and ill-conceived: most of them did not get sunlight at all.

Worst of all, things were in Athens, about which many travelers of that time responded with contempt. Nevertheless, comfort eventually penetrated into the homes of ordinary Greeks. So, the real revolution in urban planning and street planning at that time was made by the architect Hippodamus of Miletus. It was he who first drew attention to the location of houses in the city and tried to build them in one line.

Architectural sights of Ancient Greece

Now we need to dwell on one more important question: what did the Ancient Hellas leave us, if we talk about material monuments?

Sights of Ancient Greece - temples, amphitheaters, the remains of public buildings - have been preserved in many countries of Europe. But most of all, of course, it is in the territory of the modern state of the same name.

The most important monuments of ancient material culture are the Greek temples. In Hellas, they were built everywhere, because it was believed that they are inhabited by the gods themselves. These world famous sights of Ancient Greece stand out against the background of other architectural monuments of Ancient Hellas - the remains of Greek acropolises and other ancient ruins.

Parthenon

Perhaps the most famous monument of Greek architecture is the temple Parthenon. It was built in 432 BC in Athens, and today it is the most recognizable tourist symbol of modern Greece. It is known that the construction of this majestic Doric temple was led by the architects Kallikrat and Iktin, and it was built in honor of the goddess Athena, the patroness of the Athenian acropolis.

Until now, the central part of the Parthenon with fifty columns has been quite well preserved. In the center of the temple you can see a copy of the sculpture of Athena, made in due time from ivory and gold by Fidium - the most famous ancient Greek artist and sculptor.

The frieze of the central facade of the building is generously decorated with various images, and the pediments of the church are decorated with wonderful sculptural compositions.

Temple of Hera

The oldest temple in ancient Greece is the temple of the goddess Hera. Experts say that it was built in the sixth century BC. Unfortunately, the structure did not survive as well as the Parthenon: at the beginning of the fourth century it was badly damaged by the earthquake.

The temple of Hera is in Olympia. According to the legend, the inhabitants of Elida gave it to the Olympians. The foundation, the steps, and several surviving columns are all that remains of the grandiose structure to date. One can only imagine how it looked in those ancient times.

At one time the temple of Hera was decorated with a statue of Hermes. Today, the sculpture is kept in the archaeological museum of Olympia. It is known that the ancient Romans used the temple of Hera in Olympia as a sanctuary. Today, this place is famous primarily for the fact that the Olympic flame is lit on the eve of the next Olympiad.

Temple of Poseidon

The temple of Poseidon, or rather its remains, is located on Cape Sounion. It was built in 455 BC. Up to now, only 15 columns have been preserved, but they also speak eloquently about the majesty of this structure. Scientists have established that on the site of this temple, long before the construction began, there were already other religious buildings. Approximately they date from the 7th century BC.

Everyone knows that the god Poseidon in ancient Greek mythology is the lord of the seas and oceans. Therefore, it is no accident that the ancient Greeks chose a place for the construction of this temple: on the steep bank of the Aegean Sea. By the way, it was in this place that King Agei rushed from the steep rock when he saw the ship of his son Theseus with a black sail in the distance.

Finally...

Ancient Greece is a real phenomenon in the history of European civilization, which had a huge impact on the development of European culture, science, art and architecture. The sights of Ancient Greece are numerous majestic temples, the remains of acropolis and picturesque ruins that have been preserved to a large extent in our days. Today they attract a huge number of tourists from all over the world.